Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP)
public plan · City of Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is moderately funded at 90% — assets of $31.2B against $34.9B in actuarial liabilities. Unfunded liability sits at $3.7B. Plans in this band are common and often follow regulatory amortization schedules to close the gap over time.
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is a government pension plan administered by City of Los Angeles. Unlike private corporate plans, the benefit guarantee flows from the sponsoring government's ongoing tax authority and contribution obligations rather than from federal insurance. The plan remains active — accruing new benefits for current employees and accepting new participants. Among private-sector single-employer plans, the active status is increasingly rare as employers freeze accruals while continuing to fund existing obligations; public-sector plans are more often still actively accruing.
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is a large pension plan with $31.2B in assets and 27,500 participants (13,500 active, 14,000 retired). Large plans usually have professional investment management and complex actuarial structures. Active and retired participants are roughly balanced (13,500 active, 14,000 retired). The plan is in a steady-state cash-flow phase where new accruals offset benefit payments. Annual cash flows: $1.3B in sponsor contributions versus $1.8B in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 6.5%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 7.0%.
On PBGC risk classification: low — the plan's funded status and solvency trajectory are favorable enough that PBGC intervention is not on the near-term horizon. Public plans like Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) are not PBGC-insured. The benefit guarantee rests on the sponsoring government's ability and willingness to make required contributions, which interacts with state and local tax-base dynamics.
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filings and Boston College CRR Public Plans Database.
Funding History
What This Means for You
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is in excellent financial health at 90% funded. This means for every dollar the plan owes in future benefits, it has 90 cents in assets to cover it. As a public pension, benefits are typically backed by the taxing authority of the sponsoring government. Participants in this plan have relatively low risk of benefit reductions.
Year-by-Year Funding
| Year | Assets | Liabilities | Funding Ratio | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $31.2B | $34.9B | 89.5% | $1.3B |
| 2022 | $30.3B | $34.4B | 88.0% | $1.3B |
| 2021 | $29.3B | $32.2B | 91.0% | $1.2B |
| 2020 | $28.4B | $33.4B | 85.0% | $1.2B |
| 2019 | $27.5B | $31.6B | 87.0% | $1.1B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is 90% funded, meaning it has 90 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is considered healthy by actuarial standards.
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) has 27,500 total participants, including 13,500 active employees and 14,000 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions (LAFPP) is not covered by the PBGC. Benefits depend entirely on the plan's assets and the sponsor's ability to fund it.
The Pension Health Score (0-100, A-F) measures a pension plan's financial strength based on funding ratio (50%), funding trend over 3 years (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%). Higher scores indicate more secure retirement benefits.
Pension Health Score is calculated from funding ratio, 3-year funding trend, and PBGC risk classification.